Hydro-Québec crews worked through the night restoring power to thousands of customers after freezing rain and high winds knocked out electricity across Quebec, disrupting schools, transit, and roads.

Widespread Outages and Restoration Efforts

By early Thursday, over 200,000 Hydro-Québec customers had lost power when freezing rain and strong winds hit the province. Montreal, the Laurentians, Centre-du-Québec, and Montérégie took the worst hit, with downed lines and fallen branches cutting power.

By Thursday evening, about 35,000 customers still didn't have power. Hydro-Québec's Cendrix Bouchard said all 550 crews would be out in the field. Still, he warned that slippery roads and tough conditions were slowing the work down.

"Just getting to an outage will take longer than usual," Bouchard said, stressing that crews had to stay safe on icy roads. After meeting with Hydro-Québec on Thursday, Premier François Legault told reporters most outages should be fixed by 11 p.m., but he worried that more wind in some areas could cause new problems.

Impact on Schools and Transit

Power outages and dangerous roads forced several southern Quebec school boards to stay closed for a second straight day. The Lester B.

Mastheads

Pearson School Board, the New Frontiers School Board, and the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes all announced closures for Thursday.

But the English Montreal School Board, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal decided to reopen. Still, some schools in certain areas and those without power stayed shut, leaving parents scrambling for childcare.

The morning commute in Montreal also got hit hard. The REM light-rail shut down between Gare-Centrale and Brossard. Ice on the cables forced the shutdown, so shuttle buses took over on the South Shore and Nuns' Island. The REM said service was coming back online by 9 a.m. Once crews cleared the ice.

A Series of Challenging Weather Systems

This wasn't the first time—Quebec had been hammered by rough weather. Days earlier, a cold front with fierce winds knocked out power for over 70,000 customers around 5:30 a.m. On Tuesday. The Laurentians, Lanaudière, and Montérégie each lost power to over 10,000 homes.

Chaudière-Appalaches, Estrie, and Montreal also got hit, with 5,000 to 10,000 homes each going dark. Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Capitale-Nationale, Centre-du-Québec, Mauricie, Outaouais, and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean all saw outages too. Environment Canada issued yellow wind warnings for several areas, expecting gusts up to 90 km/h that knocked down trees and branches.

The weather system also sent temperatures plummeting. In Montreal, it dropped from 14°C Monday night to minus-8°C by Tuesday. With wind chill, it'd feel like minus-16°C—bad news for anyone without heat.

Ongoing Vigilance

Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault warned more wind could knock out more power. He also said temperatures would keep dropping, turning pooled water on roads into ice traps.

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With crews still working and more wind and cold on the way, Hydro-Québec's bracing for more outages.

This article was created with AI assistance.